CONVENTION No. 53 Convention concerning the Minimum Requirement ofProfessional Capacity for Masters and Officers on Board Merchant ships
CONVENTION No. 53 Convention concerning the Minimum Requirement ofProfessional Capacity for Masters and Officers on Board Merchant ships
[Date of coming into force: 29 March 1939.]
Whole document
The General Conference of the International Labour Organization,
Having been convened at Geneva by the Governing Body of the
International Labour Office, and having met in its Twenty-first Session
on 6 October 1936, and
Having decided upon the adoption of certain proposals with regard to
the establishment by each maritime country of a minimum requirement of
professional capacity in the case of captain, navigating and engineer
officers in charge of watches on board merchant ships, which is the fourth
item on the agenda of the Session, and
Having determined that these proposals shall take the form of an
international Convention, adopts this twenty-fourth day of October of the
year one thousand nine hundred and thirty-six the following Convention,
which may be cited as the Officers' Competency Certificates Convention,
1936:
Article 1
1. This Convention applies to all vessels registered in a territory
for which this Convention is in force and engaged in maritime navigation
with the exception of-
(a) ships of war;
(b) Government vessels, or vessels in the service of a public
authority, which are not engaged in trade;
(c) wooden ships of primitive build such as dhows and junks.
2. National laws or regulations may grant exceptions or exemptions in
respect of vessels of less than 200 tons gross registered tonnage.
Article 2
For the purpose of this Convention the following expressions have the
meanings hereby assigned to them:
(a) "master or skipper" means any person having command or charge
of a vessel;
(b) "navigating officer in charge of a watch" means any person,
other than a pilot, who is for the time being actually in charge of the
navigation or manoeuvring of a vessel;
(c) "chief engineer" means any person permanently responsible for
the mechanical propulsion of a vessel;
(d) "engineer officer in charge of a watch" means any person who
is for the time being actually in charge of the running of a vessel's
engines.
Article 3
1. No person shall be engaged to perform or shall perform on board any
vessel to which this Convention applies the duties of master or skipper,
navigating officer in charge of a watch, chief engineer, or engineer
officer in charge of a watch, unless he holds a certificate of competency
to perform such duties, issued or approved by the public authority of the
territory where the vessel is registered.
2. Exceptions to the provisions of this Article may be made only in
cases of force majeure.
Article 4
1. No person shall be granted a certificate of competency unless-
(a) he has reached the minimum age prescribed for the issue of the
certificate in question;
(b) his professional experience has been of the minimum duration
prescribed for the issue of the certificate in question; and
(c) he has passed the examinations organized and supervised by the
competent authority for the purpose of testing whether he possesses the
qualifications necessary for performing the duties corresponding to the
certificate for which he is a candidate.
2. National laws or regulations shall-
(a) prescribe a minimum age to have been attained by and a minimum
period of professional experience to have been completed by candidates for
each grade of competency certificate;
(b) provide for the organization and supervision by the competent
authority of one or more examinations for the purpose of testing whether
candidates for competency certificates possess the qualifications
necessary for performing the duties corresponding to the certificates for
which they are candidates.
3. Any Member of the Organization may, during a period of three years
form the date of its ratification, issue competency certificates to
persons who have not passed the examinations organized in virtue of
paragraph 2 (b) of this Article who-
(a) have in fact had sufficient practical experience of the duties
corresponding to the certificate in question; and
(b) have no record of any serious technical error against them.
Article 5
1. Each Member which ratifies this Convention shall ensure its due
enforcement by an efficient system of inspection.
2. National laws or regulations shall provide for the cases in which
the authorities of a Member may detain vessels registered in its territory
on account of a breach of the provisions of this Convention.
3. Where the authorities of a Member which has ratified this
Convention find a breach of its provisions on a vessel registered in the
territory of another Member which has also ratified the Convention, the
said authorities shall communicate with the consul of the Member in the
territory of which the vessel is registered.
Article 6
1. National laws or regulations shall prescribe penalties or
disciplinary measures for cases in which the provisions of this Convention
are not respected.
2. In particular, such penalties or disciplinary measures shall be
prescribed for cases in which-
(a) a shipowner, shipowner's agent, master or skipper has engaged
a person not certificated as required by this Convention;
(b) a master or skipper has allowed any of the duties defined in
Article 2 of this Convention to be performed by a person not holding the
corresponding or a superior certificate;
(c) a person has obtained by fraud or forged documents an
engagement to perform any of the duties defined in the said Article 2
without holding the requisite certificate.
Article 7
1. In respect of the territories referred to in article 35 of the
Constitution of the International Labour Organization, each Member of the
Organization which ratifies this Convention shall append to its
ratification a declaration stating-
(a) the territories in respect of which it undertakes to apply the
provisions of the Convention without modification;
(b) the territories in respect of which it undertakes to apply the
provisions of the Convention subject to modifications, together with
details of the said modifications;
(c) the territories in respect of which the Convention is
inapplicable and in such cases the grounds on which it is inapplicable;
(d) the territories in respect of which it reserves its decision.
2. The undertakings referred to in subparagraphs (a) and (b) of
paragraph 1 of this Article shall be deemed to be an integral part of the
ratification and shall have the force of ratification.
3. Any Member may be a subsequent declaration cancel in whole or in
part any reservations made in its original declaration in virtue of
subparagraphs (b), (c) or (d) of paragraph 1 of this Article.
Article 8
The formal ratifications of this Convention shall be communicated to
the Director-General of the International Labour Office for registration.
Article 9
1. This Convention shall be binding only upon those Members of the
International Labour Organization whose ratifications have been registered
with the Director-General.
2. It shall come into force twelve months after the date on which the
ratifications of two Members have been registered with the
Director-General.
3. Thereafter, this Convention shall come into force for any Member
twelve months after the date on which its ratification has been
registered.
Article 10
As soon as the ratifications of two Members of the International
Labour Organization have been registered, the Director-General of the
International Labour Office shall so notify all the Members of the
International Labour Organization. He shall likewise notify them of the
registration of ratifications which may be communicated subsequently by
other Members of the Organization.
Article 11
1. A Member which has ratified this Convention may denounce it after
the expiration of ten years from the date on which the Convention first
comes into force, by an act communicated to the Director-General of the
International Labour Office for registration. Such denunciation shall not
take effect until one year after the date on which it is registered.
2. Each Member which has ratified this Convention and which does not,
within the year following the expiration of the period of ten years
mentioned in the preceding paragraph, exercise the right of denunciation
provided for in this Article, will be bound for another period of ten
years and, thereafter, may denounce this Convention at the expiration of
each period of ten years under the terms provided for in this Article.
Article 12
At such times as it may consider necessary the Governing Body of the
International Labour Office shall present to the General Conference a
report on the working of this Convention and shall examine the
desirability of placing on the agenda of the Conference the question of
its revision in whole or in part.
Article 13
1. Should the Conference adopt a new Convention revising this
Convention in whole or in part, then, unless the new Convention otherwise
provides,
(a) the ratification by a Member of the new revising Convention
shall ipso jure involve the immediate denunciation of this Convention,
notwithstanding the provisions of Article 11 above, if and when the new
revising Convention shall have come into force;
(b) as from the date when the new revising Convention comes into
force, this Convention shall cease to be open to ratification by the
Members.
2. This Convention shall in any case remain in force in its actual
form and content for those Members which have ratified it but have not
ratified the revising Convention.
Article 14
The French and English texts of this Convention shall both be
authentic.
nary measures shall be
prescribed for cases in which-
(a) a shipowner, shipowner's agent, master or skipper has engaged
a person not certificated as required by this Convention;
(b) a master or skipper has allowed any of the duties defined in
Article 2 of this Convention to be performed by a person not holding the
corresponding or a superior certificate;
(c) a person has obtained by fraud or forged documents an
engagement to perform any of the duties defined in the said Article 2
without holding the requisite certificate.
Article 7
1. In respect of the territories referred to in article 35 of the
Constitution of the International Labour Organization, each Member of the
Organization which ratifies this Convention shall append to its
ratification a declaration stating-
(a) the territories in respect of which it undertakes to apply the
provisions of the Convention without modification;
(b) the territories in respect of which it undertakes to apply the
provisions of the Convention subject to modifications, together with
details of the said modifications;
(c) the territories in respect of which the Convention is
inapplicable and in such cases the grounds on which it is inapplicable;
(d) the territories in respect of which it reserves its decision.
2. The undertakings referred to in subparagraphs (a) and (b) of
paragraph 1 of this Article shall be deemed to be an integral part of the
ratification and shall have the force of ratification.
3. Any Member may be a subsequent declaration cancel in whole or in
part any reservations made in its original declaration in virtue of
subparagraphs (b), (c) or (d) of paragraph 1 of this Article.
Article 8
The formal ratifications of this Convention shall be communicated to
the Director-General of the International Labour Office for registration.
Article 9
1. This Convention shall be binding only upon those Members of the
International Labour Organization whose ratifications have been registered
with the Director-General.
2. It shall come into force twelve months after the date on which the
ratifications of two Members have been registered with the
Director-General.
3. Thereafter, this Convention shall come into force for any Member
twelve months after the date on which its ratification has been
registered.
Article 10
As soon as the ratifications of two Members of the International
Labour Organization have been registered, the Director-General of the
International Labour Office shall so notify all the Members of the
International Labour Organization. He shall likewise notify them of the
registration of ratifications which may be communicated subsequently by
other Members of the Organization.
Article 11
1. A Member which has ratified this Convention may denounce it after
the expiration of ten years from the date on which the Convention first
comes into force, by an act communicated to the Director-General of the
International Labour Office for registration. Such denunciation shall not
take effect until one year after the date on which it is registered.
2. Each Member which has ratified this Convention and which does not,
within the year following the expiration of the period of ten years
mentioned in the preceding paragraph, exercise the right of denunciation
provided for in this Article, will be bound for another period of ten
years and, thereafter, may denounce this Convention at the expiration of
each period of ten years under the terms provided for in this Article.
Article 12
At such times as it may consider necessary the Governing Body of the
International Labour Office shall present to the General Conference a
report on the working of this Convention and shall examine the
desirability of placing on the agenda of the Conference the question of
its revision in whole or in part.
Article 13
1. Should the Conference adopt a new Convention revising this
Convention in whole or in part, then, unless the new Convention otherwise
provides,
(a) the ratification by a Member of the new revising Convention
shall ipso jure involve the immediate denunciation of this Convention,
notwithstanding the provisions of Article 11 above, if and when the new
revising Convention shall have come into force;
(b) as from the date when the new revising Convention comes into
force, this Convention shall cease to be open to ratification by the
Members.
2. This Convention shall in any case remain in force in its actual
form and content for those Members which have ratified it but have not
ratified the revising Convention.
Article 14
The French and English texts of this Convention shall both be
authentic.
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